Tom Hanks film to ship out early to theaters

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Charlie Wilson's War"
will take to the box office battlefield a few days earlier than
originally scheduled.

The Universal Pictures movie, in which Tom Hanks plays a
Texas congressman who becomes involved in covert activities in
Afghanistan, will open in more than 2,000 theaters on December
21 rather than waiting until Christmas Day.

The studio said "people are really enjoying the movie," and
there was "no reason " not to take advantage of an earlier
release slot.

"Charlie" will face off against a crowded field that
currently includes Disney's action-adventure sequel "National
Treasure: Book of Secrets," Warner Bros.' romance "P.S., I Love
You," DreamWorks/Paramount's musical "Sweeney Todd" and Sony's
comedy "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story."

Christmas Day will now mark the openings of Fox's "Alien
vs. Predator: Requiem," MGM/Weinstein Co.'s "The Great
Debaters," and Sony's "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep."

The last two times Christmas and New Year's fell on a
Tuesday were 2001 and 1990, so the industry does not have much
experience with this particular holiday configuration. But it
could potentially add up to two consecutive five-day moviegoing
weekends, with school holidays contributing to midweek ticket
sales between the two holidays.